Process of napping hat-bodies jointly.



F. J. MUHLFELD. PROCESS OF NAPPING HAT BODIES JOINTLY. APPLICATION FILED YEB.28, 1910.

1,001,296, Patented Aug. 22, 1911.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAI'H co..WAs|uNuTcN, n. cy

sults as bodies of ordinary thickness. It is obvious that such thin bodies could not be handled and subjected to a napping operation unless they were previously felted or shrunk to the desired size, as such bodies have no tenacity and could not be handled unless they were fully felted; and it is understood that the invention is applicable only to felted hat-bodies, as it is the complete felting of the body which prevents the fur of the nap-bat from amalgamating with it, and permits only the ends or roots of the napping fibers to penetrate the felt, thus producing the projecting flowing fur that is desired. The use of bodies of such unusual thinness is especially desirable when the obj ect is to produce a finished napped hat with a crown and upper brim having a nap of one color and an under brim having a nap of another color. By uniting two of such bodies together during the napping operation in the manner described, the whole of the exposed surface of the bodies which is to form the crown and upper brim, and so much of the surface as may be necessary of the body which is to form the under brim of the completed hat, can be. napped, and the two bodies then separated in the manner described and each dyed of a different color, the bodies being then reunited in any convenient manner to form the completed hat without objectionable weight or clumsiness of appearance. By this process also a napped hat having a large outer crown and a small inner crown adapted to the head of the wearer, can be produced by blocking the two bodies after they have been sepa rated, one upon a larger and one upon a smaller block and then reuniting the bodies. Besides the variations of color which can be obtained in a hat, various other novel combined effects can be produced by the use of this invent-ion.

The invention will be understood by reference to the annexed drawing, which illustrates the invention diagrammatically, Figure 1 being a plan of two flat round hatbodies secured together by stitching near the margin; Fig. 1 is a plan of a fiat duplex body; 2 is a cross section of the same with nap-bats upon their opposite sides; Fig. 3 is a cross section of the same with the nap fully finished upon such flat bodies; Fig. 4 shows the bodies partially separated by breaking the stitching; Fig. 5 shows one of the bodies blocked to form a large crown thereon; Fig. 6 shows the other body blocked to form a small crown or head opening therein; Fig. 7 is a cross section of the two bodies secured together in a single hat; and Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the finished hat.

a designates one of the hat-bodies and 7) the other, with a row of stitching 0 connecting the same near their margin. The nap bats e and f are shown in Fig. 2 stuck upon opposite sides of the two bodies, and Fig. 3 shows the nap raised, as at the close of the napping operation. The two bodies joined together during the napping operation may be termed a duplex-body which is adapted for napping upon its outer sides, to form two single bodies napped each upon a single side.

The operation of napping the bodies jointly is the same as that of napping a single body upon both sides, the bats e and f being vibrated and scalded in the usual manner and then beaten up to produce the flowing nap as is common in this art.

Machinery can be used at any stage of the process to operate upon the double body the same as upon a single body, and causes no injury to the thin halves of such double body. The nap-bats are, in practice, made a little larger than the bodies so as to surely cover the same, and they thus project a little over the edge, which has the effect of rooting the napping fur into the edges of the bodies as well as into their outer sides. The joint between the two bodies is thus concealed by the fur upon the edge, but the bodies are readily separated by the fingers and the stitching broken, when the two bodies can be quicklyseparated. V

Fig. 4: shows the separation or splitting apart of the two bodies, partially completed by breaking the stitches c. Fig. 5 shows the body a blocked to form a large crown a with upper brim a thereon and the nap upon the outer side of such crown and upper brim. Fig. 6 shows the body 1) blocked to form a small crown Z) for an under brim with suitable head-opening and the nap upon its under side. Fig. 7 shows the two bodies rejoined by any suitable means, thus forming a napped hat with nap upon the upper and lower sides.

Prior to the blocking operation, the separate bodies may be dyed of diiferent colors or otherwise treated to distinguish them from one another, so that when reunited, the upper and lower parts of the body may contrast in color or appearance.

The crown in the illustration is shown provided with the marginal flange marked a which forms an upper brim to fit upon and cover the under brim formed by the margin of the body 6, so that both bodies form a part of the hat brim, and such brim is napped upon both sides and of difi'erent colors as described. The crown may, however, be blocked without a flange and secured upon the top of the body 5 in any desired relation to the small crown b which forms the head-opening orsupport for the hat.

The essential part of the invention is the connecting of two hat-bodies together during the napping operationin such a manner that they may be napped jointly upon the outer sides and afterward separated, thus securing the advantage of a thick and re inforced material to work upon during the napping operation. This method of operating upon two hat-bodies not only eeonomizes the labor but permits machinery to be used safely in different stages in the napping process, and improves the quality of the nap, as is found by repeated experiments.

The invention may, if desired, be practiced without machinery. The process can he used with similar good results either upon flat bodies or upon bodies in conical shape, and while the invention is particularly applicable to the napping of bodies of unusual thinness it is not limited in its use to such bodies, as it is very useful when applied to bodies of ordinary thickness, as it enables two of such bodies to be napped jointly upon the outer side in a single operation.

My invention is especially applicable to the napping of flat round hat-bodies as they are readily secured together and llat nap bats readily stuck thereon, and I have therefore made especial claim herein to the use of such flat bodies in practicing my invention and to the duplex bodies consisting of two flat round bat-bodies suitably stitl'encd and joined detachably together.

The invention is applicable to any felted hat bodies which can be napped, whether such bodies be made of wool or fur. The method of preparing wool and fur bodies before napping is somewhat dill'erent, but it is obviously imn'iaterial how the felted hatbody is prepared for the napping operation, as the invention relates to the napping of the felted body to form a flowing nap thereon from a fur nap-bat.

It is necessary to felt the bodies before joining them together to apply the nap, and itis also common to stiffen the bodies with the usual stiffening solution before napping.

Fig. 1 shows a special form of the duplex body in which two flat round hat-bodies of different sizes are joined detachabl y together for napping, the smaller body A when secured upon the larger one B by stitching 0', leaving the margin of the larger one exposed so that when the nap-bats are applied the fur may be rooted not only upon the under side of the larger body but also upon an annular portion of the upper side. This arrangement of hat bodies enables an annular nap to he formed upon the upper side of a body which is provided with a nap also upon its under side, and makes such annular nap perfectly even in its continuwhere it is attached to the upper side of the body. Such an even contour cannot be secured by sticking an annular hat to a hatbody, as such body possesses no gage to limit the attachment of the fur, such as is formed by the smaller body lying upon the surface of the larger one.

llaving thus set forth the nature of the invention what is claimed herein is:

'l. The improviunent in the art: of napping felt hat-bodies, which consists in securing opposed sides of two felted hatbodies tem 'iorarily together, sticking napbats of animal fur upon their external sur faces, then completing the napping operation, and finally separating the napped bodies.

That improvement in the art of napping felt hat-hodies which consists in securing opposed sides of two felted hat-bodies temporarily by stitches, sticking nap-bats of animal fur upon their external surfaces, then completing the napping, and linally severing the stitches.

3. That iniprm'ementv in the art of napping ifelt-bodies, which consists in securing opposed sides of two hat-bodies of unequal size temporarily together, sticking nap-bats of animal fur upon their external surfaces, then completing the napping, and linally separating the na pped bodies.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the prcsence of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses:

L. LEE,

Tnoiuas S. (Janna.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0. 

